Haredi draft

IDF opens haredi winter recruitment as coalition talks tackle conscription

Dozens of haredi men began recruitment for IDF combat support roles as coalition talks continued amid disputes over the conscription bill.

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jewish reserve soldiers of the IDF's Hasmonean Brigade operate in the Gaza Strip on June 26, 2025; Illustrative.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest against the drafting of ultra orthodox jews to the Israeli army, in Jerusalem, July 15, 2026.

Haredi groom arrested days after wedding for evading draft, sentenced to 20 days in military prison

Haredi protesters gather outside the Tel Hashomer IDF base in Kiryat Ono on November 1, 2026.

WATCH: Unlawful haredi protests ramp up near IDF recruitment center in Kiryat Ono

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews attend an election rally organized by the United Torah Judaism party in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, central Israel, two days ahead of Israel’s general elections, October 25, 2026.

'We do whatever they say': Yeshiva students defer to rabbis over response to IDF draft enforcement


Bread as a weapon: The ugly pedigree of ‘no service, no shekel’ - opinion

The idea that those who do not serve should not be fed has a pedigree — Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Hitler — and a Jewish history that Israel, of all countries, should remember. The strategy never succeeds.

An illustrative image.

Will this election end the battle over drafting haredi men into the IDF? - analysis

In a recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute, a proposition that the next government should draft haredim equally received the most support among a series of propositions.

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish sector has been protesting over the attempts to draft young haredi men into the military.

Yair Lapid: The upcoming election is about what we want Israel to be - opinion

This is not a choice between Right and Left, or between religious and secular Israelis. This is a choice between those who carry this country on their backs and those who hitch a free ride.

Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett are seen at a B'Yachad event.

Israel's attorney-general urges High Court to cut benefits for 110,000 draft evaders

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara urged the High Court to consider restricting tax and transport benefits for draft evaders, citing government inaction and the IDF's urgent manpower needs.

Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men at the Tel Hashomer IDF base, August 30, 2026.

Israel’s election must be about repairing society after October 7 - opinion

The silent majority of the Israeli public must step up and choose tikkun – the repair of society to make it better – and ensure that our heroic soldiers will not have died in vain.

(Illustrative) A man casts his ballot at a voting station on the morning of the municipal elections, in Ashdod, February 27, 2024

Haredi protesters block Highway 4 near Ra'anana, Kfar Saba over draft dodger arrest

Police have deemed the demonstration illegal and are on the scene directing traffic to alternative routes, clearing the road, and restoring public order.

Ultra-Orthodox protester holding a sign reading "Either Haredi or the army" during an anti-draft protest on Highway 4, October 8, 2026.

Some came to Israel to serve the Jewish state. Haredim are rewarded for refusing to help - opinion

How can a sane government allow a situation in which people travel thousands of miles to serve Israel while tens of thousands are paid not to serve their country?

IDF officers

IDF detains 42 Chabad Hassidic draft evaders arriving from New York at Ben-Gurion Airport

Of the 42, 40 expressed willingness to enlist and were found fit for military service, while 2 were found to have dodged the draft for an extended period and were sent directly to a military prison.

Members of the Chabad community at Ben-Gurion Airport, October 20, 2026.

Netanyahu: Arrests of haredi draft evaders 'unacceptable,' undermine IDF enlistment efforts

"This is unacceptable. We need to preserve the world of Torah study because it has preserved us," the prime minister told Kol Barama during a Tuesday morning radio interview.

Prime Minister and Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu visits supporters in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, ahead of Israel’s upcoming general elections, October 14, 2026

Israel cannot solve its draft crisis without confronting the status quo - opinion

This systemic self-destructive behavior of Israeli governments, letting one group decide and legislate what is religiously (and therefore civically) acceptable, is the root of today's inequality.

HAREDI MEN clash with police officers and civilians as they block a road during a protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who refused IDF service, on Route 90, on October 18, 2026.